Exotic fusion food recipes

April 14, 2016

Bulgur Wheat Payasam / kheer ( pudding )

Payasam or kheer is made in different forms and with different ingredients in Kerala. It is the main dessert of Malayalee’s which they make it with almost all fruits and vegetables. Traditionally, it’s done with few ingredients like rice, wheat and ada.. cooked in either milk or in jaggery ( jaggery is made with the products of sugarcane or the date palm tree ).

Here I’m making the payasam / kheer with bulgur wheat / dalia. Compared to white rice, which is usually used for rice pudding, bulgur wheat contains more fiber, protein and higher levels of most vitamins and minerals.

Less stressful way to prepare this kheer is to soak the bulgur wheat for an hour or so in water, wash it and pressure cook it to save time.

After cooking the wheat, strain and slowly cook again in ghee ( clarified butter) till the grains starts to separate. It’s ok if all the grains are not separate. This step is to remove any moisture in the wheat.

In the mean time you can keep the jaggery for melting in 1/2 cup of water. Here I’ve used 250g of jaggery. Melt it in water and strain it ( preferably in muslin cloth ) to remove any impurities.

And one more step to do before starting to make the kheer is to prepare the coconut milk. You’ll need 1/2 cup of thick 1st strain and 1 1/2 cup of thin 2 nd strain. If you’re using store bought coconut cream / milk, dilute 1/2 cup in 1 cup of water and use the remaining 1/2 cup as itself at the last stage.

The spices used here can be used together or separately according to your family’s preference. Or even better, you can omit the spices altogether. It still taste yummy.

Soaking time : 1 hour

Preparation time : 15 mts

Cooking time : 1 hour

Serves : 6

Ingredients :

1/2 cup bulgur wheat ( nurukkugothambu)

200 – 250g of jagerry ( according to taste)

200 ml coconut cream ( milk)

2 table spoons of ghee ( clarified butter )

1 1/2 + 1/2 + 1 1/2 ( if making the fresh coconut milk)

2 cardamom pods ( powder it)

1/8 tsp dry ginger powder ( optional)

1/8 tsp cumin powder ( optional )

1/4 cup fresh coconut pieces

A few cashew nuts ( optional )

Method :

Soak the bulgur wheat at least an hour.

Wash and cook in 1 1/2 cups of water till it becomes soft. You can pressure cook it too.

Melt the jagerry, strain it and keep it aside.

Make the 2 types of coconut milk. The 1st strain and the second strain.

In a thick heavy bottom pan add ghee and melt it.

Once the ghee is melted, add the coconut pieces and fry it. Once it turned light brown in colour take it out and keep it aside.

Fry the cashew nuts the same way and keep it aside along with the fried coconut pieces.

Now add the cooked wheat in the same ghee ( if you find that the ghee is reduced you can add 1 more table spoon )and fry it in low fire till the wheat starts to separate.

Add the strained, melted jaggey and cook till the mix has reduced to half its quantity.

Add in the second stain of coconut milk and cook in medium heat till it’s reduced to half its measure.

Add in the spices and cook further for 2 more minutes.

Switch off the fire and add in the 1 st strain or the thick 1/2 cup coconut milk.

Be mindful of the consistency of the Payasam. It’ll thicken further in time.